The resurgence of the mainframe class processing environment has created an increased desire for software developers to write applications for the mainframe environment. Discouraging this effort is the high cost of such an environment for development and training purposes. Emulation is one solution to this dilemma. Emulation is the process whereby a native system (for example, a generalized processor, such as a UNIX or LINUX-based workstation) is programmed to provide a more specialized processor architecture of a guest system (e.g., a z/Architecture® system offered by International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y.). This solution advantageously provides a much lower cost of ownership of the product for pursuing application development.